This publication presents information about underemployed workers. The number of underemployed workers is an important component of underutilised labour resources in the economy, along with the number of unemployed and some people with marginal attachment to the labour force. Underemployed workers are part-time workers who want, and are available for, more hours of work than they currently have and full-time workers who worked part-time hours during the reference week for economic reasons. A range of information is presented on underemployed workers including the number of hours usually worked, number of preferred hours, steps taken to find work with more hours, and difficulties finding work with more hours.

The statistics in this publication were compiled from the Underemployed Workers Survey, conducted throughout Australia in September 2006 as a supplement to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Data from the survey relate to all employed people aged 15 years and over. People who worked less than 35 hours in the week prior to the survey (i.e. the reference week) and who would have preferred to work more hours, were asked about whether they were available to start work with more hours, whether they were looking for work with more hours, and their experience in looking for work with more hours. Other information sought included the duration of the current period of insufficient work and the number of extra hours preferred.

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

Table 1 is a new table for this issue. Due to interest in underutilised labour resources, it includes three measures of labour underutilisation: the unemployment rate, the underemployment rate and the labour underutilisation rate. A time series for 2000 to 2006 is provided. These are the same measures as published in Australian Labour Market Statistics (cat. no. 6105.0).

ROUNDING

As estimates have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.

INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Labour Market Section on Canberra (02) 6252 7206.

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